This is entirely your fault for trying it when you clearly had every reason not to. You realize that, I hope.

Indeed, I am a victim of my own nature and curiosity far more frequently then I care to admit. I just heard such stellar things about the game for so long I thought it wouldn't hurt see what all the fuss was about. Clearly I was wrong... I think it did hurt-LoL

This is entirely your fault for trying it when you clearly had every reason not to. You realize that, I hope.

Indeed, I am a victim of my own nature and curiosity far more frequently then I care to admit. I just heard such stellar things about the game for so long I thought it wouldn't hurt see what all the fuss was about. Clearly I was wrong... I think it did hurt-LoL

I think the bragging goes to the later titles.

And as to why it's got a hook on you? It's Disney. That shit was crack for our childhood and we experience a relapse of it in videogame/squeenix form

This is entirely your fault for trying it when you clearly had every reason not to. You realize that, I hope.

Indeed, I am a victim of my own nature and curiosity far more frequently then I care to admit. I just heard such stellar things about the game for so long I thought it wouldn't hurt see what all the fuss was about. Clearly I was wrong... I think it did hurt-LoL

I think the bragging goes to the later titles.

And as to why it's got a hook on you? It's Disney. That shit was crack for our childhood and we experience a relapse of it in videogame/squeenix form

Thats the thing.... Disney apparently freaked me out as a kid. Just last week I spoke to my father (haven't spoken to him in a very long time) and ironically enough he reported to me as a little child I would apparently cry and carry on excessively when my parents would try to show me disney movies or sesame street. As such, my disney exposure is nominal at best.

And now for an off topic, but currently thread appropriate glimpse into Klyde's Childhood. WARNING: No KH relevant material for the next paragraph.

My parents were real horror buffs. The even made horror films they would enter in indie festivals and had our yard and house all spooka-fied as a walk-through haunted attraction. Growing up Nightmare on Elm Street was my sesame street-LoL. In fact the earliest memory I have of "buying" anything is of a childs play latex chuckie mask.... Apparently I was fine seeing all this stuff as young child until they showed me the exorcist when I was 5 or 6, that apparently scared the crud out of me.

So in order to truly challenge myself this playthrough I'm playing on Proud Mode and chose Magicc and gave up Defense. At level 12 the Wonderland boss could kill me in 3 hits. Still managed to beat him. Putting the Proud in proud mode.

So in order to truly challenge myself this playthrough I'm playing on Proud Mode and chose Magicc and gave up Defense. At level 12 the Wonderland boss could kill me in 3 hits. Still managed to beat him. Putting the Proud in proud mode.

So in order to truly challenge myself this playthrough I'm playing on Proud Mode and chose Magicc and gave up Defense. At level 12 the Wonderland boss could kill me in 3 hits. Still managed to beat him. Putting the Proud in proud mode.

thats it... I'm taking the plunge guys. love it or hate it, I gotta see it through. Just went out and picked this back up after a week of obsessing. I gotta get through it for my sanity.

So question... I think I started off on the wrong foot because I didn't know what I was doing. I picked the final mix difficulty and gave up shield, selected sword and I found the game to be a wee bit too hard for my taste..... ok I found it to be REAL hard.

So my question is, should I restart and change the settings? Will it make much of a difference?

BTW kudos to you Klutz for your efforts, I know I couldn't handle the challenge you've undertaken there. Not in a title like this at least... Now give me something like X-Com or a tactical game and I'm on board for an extremity in difficulty. Hard action-ee titles make me want to rage quit.

thats it... I'm taking the plunge guys. love it or hate it, I gotta see it through. Just went out and picked this back up after a week of obsessing. I gotta get through it for my sanity.

So question... I think I started off on the wrong foot because I didn't know what I was doing. I picked the final mix difficulty and gave up shield, selected sword and I found the game to be a wee bit too hard for my taste..... ok I found it to be REAL hard.

So my question is, should I restart and change the settings? Will it make much of a difference?

BTW kudos to you Klutz for your efforts, I know I couldn't handle the challenge you've undertaken there. Not in a title like this at least... Now give me something like X-Com or a tactical game and I'm on board for an extremity in difficulty. Hard action-ee titles make me want to rage quit.

YMMV. I think it's one of those "do what you're most comfortable with".I took the shield myself, and gave up magic (because it's enough trouble to cast). I'm sure others will say different things.

But the questions the FF kids ask you while you're floating around in dream-limbo at the start actually have some interesting consequences that has to do with how much EXP you get up until the lvl 40 (iirc). It gives you more till 40, then less after, or vice versa (or no change at all with other options).

thats it... I'm taking the plunge guys. love it or hate it, I gotta see it through. Just went out and picked this back up after a week of obsessing. I gotta get through it for my sanity.

So question... I think I started off on the wrong foot because I didn't know what I was doing. I picked the final mix difficulty and gave up shield, selected sword and I found the game to be a wee bit too hard for my taste..... ok I found it to be REAL hard.

So my question is, should I restart and change the settings? Will it make much of a difference?

BTW kudos to you Klutz for your efforts, I know I couldn't handle the challenge you've undertaken there. Not in a title like this at least... Now give me something like X-Com or a tactical game and I'm on board for an extremity in difficulty. Hard action-ee titles make me want to rage quit.

YMMV. I think it's one of those "do what you're most comfortable with".I took the shield myself, and gave up magic (because it's enough trouble to cast). I'm sure others will say different things.

But the questions the FF kids ask you while you're floating around in dream-limbo at the start actually have some interesting consequences that has to do with how much EXP you get up until the lvl 40 (iirc). It gives you more till 40, then less after, or vice versa (or no change at all with other options).

Ooooooohhhhh ok, I was wondering what impact those questions have!!! What do you suggest I aim for, the more til 40, less til 40 or balanced. I highly doubt I am going to be doing a completionist run of this game, so if leveling beyond 40 is more pertinent to optional bosses or post game stuff I don't really care.

If you're just planning on powering through the main story, I recommend starting with needing less experience to level "Day > Night". If you want to do the bonus stuff, you end up getting to max level faster with the other option "Night > Day"

So I went the day route and picked staff/gave up sword.... started playing and go to myself "Gee golly this sure seems like its waaaaaaay easier than it did to me a few weeks ago".

So I check my other save file and discover why I got the impression this game was so difficult... Now, I know I unwittingly I gave up shield and picked sword for my original file and I set out in the dead of night...foolish as that was... but what I was mistaken about was the difficulty... I erroneously selected proud, though I would have bet a testicle that I selected "final mix". As I stated a few posts ago I like my action-ee titles fun and mildly challenging, NOT HARD..... no wonder it took me over an hour dodge rolling to beat cerberus a few weeks ago.

Playing now the experience seems a whole lot easier to digest. I don't feel nearly as intimidated as I did. Last time I got my first few game over's in traverse town BEFORE I even hit the first boss-LoL

EDIT: @ Klutz, now that I sort of understand that scale of the difficulty you are contending with I really do tip my hat to you.... you are a sick ticket my friend! Sick enough to earn my respect.

Oh geez, I don't think I could ever stand taking Staff and giving up Sword. I always do the exact opposite. I just like the ability spread on Sword too much. I mean sure you end up with 2 extra MP, but I basically only use MP for cure so meh. Side note, if you have a hard time on Cerberus again just go to Deep Jungle, level up a bit and then come back. For some reason or another I had a hard time with him on my normal play through and had to do that in order to get past him. Actually I think him and Trickmaster might be the only bosses in the game that I had any real trouble with. Primarily because I didn't have all of my "staple" abilities.

Changing subjects to CoM, how the hell do enemy cards work. I put them in my decks but I never see them in battle. Do they just auto apply?

Also on the topic of CoM, 100 Acre Woods trophies are horrible. Or at least the vegetable one is and I assume the others are as well. High score is 47 out of the 150 I need. Yay. >.>

Oh geez, I don't think I could ever stand taking Staff and giving up Sword. I always do the exact opposite. I just like the ability spread on Sword too much. I mean sure you end up with 2 extra MP, but I basically only use MP for cure so meh. Side note, if you have a hard time on Cerberus again just go to Deep Jungle, level up a bit and then come back. For some reason or another I had a hard time with him on my normal play through and had to do that in order to get past him. Actually I think him and Trickmaster might be the only bosses in the game that I had any real trouble with. Primarily because I didn't have all of my "staple" abilities.

Crushed cerb like he was an afterthought last night! Woo-Hoo!!!

Oddly enough I've found going staff -sword has made sora way more capable for melee combat early game. Stun effect combo ender and ripple wave (in particular) have made my life all sorts of easy :)

I don't know if it was just the difficulty, or my choices at the beginning, but I have a whole different impression of this game now. What a joy it is to be able to survive more then two attacks. Literally in my other play-through 2 hits from a standard tiger enemy in the deep jungle resulted in GAME OVER.